GGRAsia – Genting Singapore winds up Macau unit

Genting Singapore winds up Macau unit

Apr 25, 2016 Newsdesk Latest News, Macau, Rest of Asia, Top of the deck

Casino operator Genting Singapore Plc announced on Friday that is has dissolved and liquidated Genting Star (Macau) Ltd, an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary incorporated in Macau.

Malaysian conglomerate Genting Group acquired Genting Star (Macau) and its parent company – Genting Star Ltd – in September 2005. The acquisition was done via Genting International Plc.

Genting Star and other units of the Genting Group were to be involved in the development of a casino hotel in Macau, on reclaimed land opposite the old Casino Lisboa. The original project included a casino to be operated under the gaming concession of Macau-based SJM Holdings Ltd, the company founded by Stanley Ho Hung Sun, according to a filing by Genting International in January 2007.

The Genting units however pulled out of the planned gaming venture in Macau because of reported concerns by the Singapore authorities. In February 2007, casino regulators in Singapore said they were seeking “clarification” from the Genting Group over the deals in Macau and its links with Mr Ho.

Genting Singapore had won a bid in November 2006 to build one of two casino resorts in the city-state.

Mr Ho, now in retirement from the Macau gaming industry, has been subjected in the past to scrutiny by regulators in the U.S. and Australia for alleged links in the Macau casino junket sector to Chinese organised crime groups, known as triads.

Genting Star and Genting Star (Macau) have not been linked to other projects in Macau.

In Friday’s statement, Genting Singapore said the dissolution and liquidation of Genting Star (Macau) “is not expected to have any material impact” on the net tangible assets and earnings of the company for the year ending December 31, 2016.